Rampage. Weep. Kill. Every 12 years, the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac take the form of warriors and engage in the ultimate battle royal. They face one another in battles to the death, using all the powers of their star signs, and the sole survivor is granted the ultimate prize: a wish. Any wish.

Juuni Taisen is very obviously a Nisio Ishin manga. The characters are varied, over the top, and have special powers; characters usually introduce themselves before their respective fights to the death; and the powers get increasingly bizarre. The winner's power is on a different level altogether.

I didn't like this story as much as e.g. Bakemonogatari or Medaka Box, but I very much appreciated its short length. This is a story about a fight to the death involving 12 contestants, and it concludes in just 4 volumes or 29 chapters. Of course, as a downside, while there's plenty of room for action, the story is very light on character development.

The ending is solid, and though I personally would've wished for something different, even that is fully addressed in-story.